Vigil for Eric Garner draws hundreds to North Shore of Staten Island (photos and video)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On the night before Eric Garner's funeral, members from his family stood alongside community leaders and elected officials during a vigil at Tompkinsville Park -- just across the street from where police attempted to arrest the asthmatic 43-year-old, who died shortly after being put in custody last Thursday.

Hundreds march on Bay Street during vigil for Eric GarnerOn the night before Eric Garner's funeral, members from his family stood alongside community leaders and elected officials during a vigil at Tompkinsville Park -- just across the street from where police attempted to arrest the asthmatic 43-year-old, who died shortly after being put in custody last Thursday. (Staten Island Advance/Ryan Lavis)

Speeches demanding justice came from several City Council members in attendance, including Debi Rose (D-North Shore) and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

"We're here because we saw the injustice," Councilwoman Rose said. "We saw the inhumanity that was caught on that video and we say that it ends today -- we saw a man whose last act was breaking up violence die a horrible and unnecessary death."

Said Speaker Mark-Viverito: "All New Yorkers expect and deserve to feel safe in their own communities and neighborhoods..those protections must be extended to people who find themselves in the custody of the NYPD."

Police have said Garner went into cardiac arrest after officers attempted to arrest him on charges of selling untaxed cigarettes. He was pronounced dead shortly after at Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton.

Cell phone video taken as the scene unfolded on Bay Street on Thursday shows an officer, since identified as Daniel Pantaleo, putting Garner in what appears to be a chokehold and dragging him to the pavement with the help of other officers.

Standing on the steps of the stationhouse, Garner's sister, Ellisha Garner, offered a few words about her brother's death.

"When we get through this, we're going to march again for victory and make sure this don't happen to anyone else, because nobody deserves this -- not even a police officer," Ms. Garner told the crowd. "Everybody deserves respect in the proper manner.

Police officers, including Staten Island borough commander Edward Delatorre, briefly spoke privately with organizers and members of Garner's family outside the stationhouse.

"For police officers, please, if somebody is telling you something, listen to them," Ms. Garner said while addressing the crowd gathered outside the stationhouse. "Not everybody is a criminal ... listen to people when they are telling you something. Not everybody is at fault."

The vigil was organized by Rev. Sharpton's National Action Network, and included several community leaders and elected officials, including Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-North Shore) and the Rev. Dr. Victor A. Brown.